Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Rangers' set-piece practice and 'six or seven' not reaching level

The mood is good, we’ve been together for a couple of days with more training sessions than we’re used to before games. Tomorrow is the time to perform.

Can you give us a squad update?

Jon McLaughlin is not available. He picked up an injury after the last game so he will not be involved. The others are fit to go, aside from longer-term injuries.

Have you put specific work into set-pieces this week?

You want to improve after every game, in all the things you are doing. Set-pieces are one of the things we didn’t do well in Europe because we conceded against PSV as you said and also against Ajax. We have given it more attention, that’s with everything we have to improve.

How much faith do you have in Allan McGregor?

Of course, it is different that he has not started games. He is still the same in training, the same person and I have every faith in him when he plays tomorrow because of the experience he has. He will be fine tomorrow, I have no doubt that he will not perform.

How is Alfredo Morelos?

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He is better than a couple of weeks ago, mentally and physically. He is training really well. I had a good conversation with him after not being involved with PSV, which was a big wake-up call. After that, he has been doing really well. He is in a far better place and makes it difficult to decide who to start.

Is there a temptation to alter your philosophy?

Not the philosophy, two weeks ago we qualified for the Champions League and everything was fine. Two defeats later it looks as though we haven’t performed in the last couple of years. I am not changing anything about how I want to play. There is room for improvement but the most disappointing part of the last couple of weeks is that we didn’t perform. The players and I share that disappointment we have talked about it. That has to change. The level we are facing in the Champions League, we have not endured that in the last 12 years so, of course, it will be tough but I don’t understand why we need to put our philosophy on the side. We can go to Ajax and play with 10 defenders and try to keep the zero but we won’t improve as a team. I am sure that facing Ajax is an experience my team won’t forget. The big learning curve is to do it again tomorrow against another quality team. We talked about it and now is the chance to get a good result tomorrow. Playing at home makes a big difference and being a Rangers manager or player, two defeats in a row is not acceptable. That’s different to putting our philosophy aside.

How is James Tavernier?

He is better than last week because all the games in a row didn’t help him. The week break for Tav is welcome because he could recover. He is so important because of the quality he brings to the team. For him in the game, he will be much better physically than against Ajax.

What has gone wrong in the last couple of games?

If you see the last games the disappointment was in the performance of the players. The level we reached was not the one we normally have. When you have to compete on a higher level [Champions League] it’s a big difference. If I look at my team in the last games I can pick six or seven players who didn’t reach your level. If you’re not at the level on the day, you see big teams losing by big numbers. That’s the Champions League. Tomorrow our individual and team performances need to be up otherwise we will struggle. I’m confident that the week we’ve had and the preparation and experience of last week will mean we’re in a better place tomorrow. The feeling is good but there’s a time to perform and that’s tomorrow starting at eight o’clock.